Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-12-17

and vanished. hit owing 70 tho extreme
massiveness Of the stvla of buil5ino. and
to the hardness and durability Of the rock
employed. most II the narty walls and
great columns still remained standing.
There before ns stretched awav what
Of the CITY. for II wns very wide. wider
than the Thames Emhankmnnt, and regu-
lar. Being, IA we afterward discovered.
paved, or rather built. throughout Of
blocks Of dressed stone. such ns were en-
| ployed in the walls. it was but little over
grown even now with grass and shrubs
that could Cet no depth OF soil to live in.
What had been the parks and gardens, on
the contrary were now dense jungle. In
deed. IL was easy even from a distance to
trace the course of the various roads by the
bnrnt-ur appearance OF the scanty grass
that grew uDon them. On either side OF
this great t~horoughfare were vast blocks
of ruins, each block. generally. speaking,
being separated from its neighbor by a
space OF what had once, ! suppose, been
garden ground. but was now dense and
tangled bush. They were all built OF the
same colorcd stone, and most Of them had
pillars, which was rs much as we could
make out in the fading light as we passed
swiftly up the main road, that I believe ]
am right in saying no living foot had passed
| for thousands of years.
Presently we came to nm pile,
which we rightly took TO be a temple, Gov.
SIlHS d0 lSuSb ituI dCltS VI kIOuuN, uPpuh-
emily arranged in a series OF courts, each
one inclosing another Of smaller size, on
the principle of a Chinese nest OF boxes,
and separated one from the other by rows
Of huge columns. And whilst ! think OF it
] may as we'll state n remarkable thing
! about the shape OF these columns, which
rescmbled none that ! AVE ever seen or
heard Of, being made with n kind Of waist
in the center, and swelling out above and
below. At first we thought that the shape
1 Uo2 maQnt tn rOluhlV gynrhOliZA nr oluppSt
the female form, AS was n common habit
amongst the ancient religious architects OF
all creeds. On the followingday, however,
as we went up the slopes Of the mountain,
we discovered a large quantity OF the most
stately-loOking palms, OF which the trunks
grew exactly in this shape, and / have now
no doubt that the first designer OF those
columns drew his inspiration from the
rather their ancestors, which then, some
eight or ten thousand years ago, as now,
beautitied the slopes Of the mountain that
had once formed the shores Of the volcanic
lake.
Atthe facade OF this huge temple, which,
1 should imagine, is almost as large as that
or El-Karnac ut Luxor, some OF the largest
columns, which | measured, being between
eighteen and twenty feet in diameter ut
the base, by some sixty feet in height, our
little procession was halted, and Ayesha
descended from the litter.
''Thcfe used to be a spot here, Kali
krates,' she said to Leo, who had run up
to lift her down, "where one might sleep.
Two thousand years ago dldthou and and
that Egyptian snake rest therein, but since
then nave ! not set foot here, noranv man,
and %perchance it has f~allen;" and, followed
by the rest of us. she passed up n vast flight
Of broken and ruined steps into the outer
court, ana looked round into the gloom.
Presently she seemed to recollect, and,
walking n few PAGES along the wall TO the
left halted
"ft il here" she said, and at the same
time beckoned to the two mutes, who were
loaded with provisions and our little be-
longings, TO advance. One OF them came
forward, and soon produced n lamp and lit
IL from his brazier, for the Amahagger
when on Il journey nearly always carried
with them Il little lighted brazier, from
which to provide fire. The finder Of this
brazier was made Of broken fragments Of
mummy carefully damped, and il the adj
mixture of moisture was properly man
aged, This unholy compound would smolder
away for hours. AS soon as the lamp was
lit we entered the place before which Aye
sha had stopped. 1t turned out to be u
chamber followed in the thickness Of the
wall, and, from the fact Of there still being
a massive stone table in il, | should think
hatithad probably served rs q living-room,
perhaps for one of the doorkeepers Of the
great temple.
Here we stopped, and after cleaning the
place out and making it as comfortable ~
circumstances aud the darkness would
permit, we ate some cold meat, at least
Leo, job, and did, for Ayesha, as 1 think
| have said elsewhere, never touched any
thing except fruit and water. Whilst we
were eating, the moon which was at her
full, rose above the mountain wall, and be-
gan TO Hood the place with silver.
"Wot ye why 1 have brought ye here to-
night, my Hollyy" said Ayesha, leaning
her head upon her hand and watching the
great orb rs she rose, like some heavenly
queen. above the solemn pillars or the tenn
Die. az brought ye-vca. Il IL strange. bnt
knowest thou. Kallikrates. that thou lest
mt this moment upon the very spot whers
thy dead BODY Law when ] bore thee back
To those caves Of kor so many years agoI
1t all returns to my mind now. can see
ii, and horrible Il. is 20 my sight" ana shc
shnddered.
Here Leo jumped up, and hastily changed
his seat. However the "reminiscences might
affect Ayesha, it clearly had few charms
for him.
II brought ye," went on Ayesha, pres
emily, that We might look upon the most
wonderful sight that ever the eve OF man
~beheld-the full-fnoon shining over ruined
Kor. When We have lone your catinc-I
would that I could teach thee to eat naught
but fruit, Kallikratcs, but that viii come
after thou hast laved in the fire: once /, too,
ate flesh like a brute beast-when We have
done we will 60 out. and ] will show We
this great temple. and the God that men
once worshiped therein"
OF course we GOT up at once, and started.
And here again my pen fails me. To give
n string of measurements and details or
the various courts Of the temple would on
Iv be wearisome, surprising that ! had them
and vet | know not how | am 70 describe
what we saw. MAGNIFICENT ms il was even
in its ruin, almost beyond the power OF
realization. Court upon dim court, row
upon row OF mighty pillars-some Of them
respectfully at the rateways) s~culptured
from pedestal TO ca~pital-Spqcc upon space
Of elnpty chambers that spokc more elo-
Guontly 10 the Imagination than any
crowded streets. And over all. the dead
silence of the dead. the sense OF utter lone
Illness. and brooiing Spirit Of the Past!
How beautiful it was. and vet how drcar!
= We did not dare to speak aloud. Ayesha
~H2rsnlf was awea in the presence or an an
tiG1ity compared to which even her length
Of days was hut n little trinC: we only
whisDeced. and our whispers seemed 10
run from, column TO column till tHcy were
lost in the ..uiet air. BRIGHT fellthe moon
light on Pillar and court and shattered
wall, hiding al their rents and imperfec-
lions in its silver garment, and clothing
their hoarv majesty, with the peculiar glory
of the night. Ii was n. wonderful sight TO
| see the full moon looking down on tho
, ruined fame OF kor. 1t was a wonderful
: thing TO think for how many thousands OF
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